Into Their Own: Book One
by Kris Pilar
Summary: Sequel to Through Muggleborn Eyes. - Brooke Weasley, youngest daughter of war heroes Bryt and Ron, is eager to start her first year of Hogwarts. Though from day one, things don't go how she was expecting. Going to Hogwarts was supposed to be something enjoyable for her. Not a source of one problem after another.
1. Hogwarts Shopping

Today was the day eleven-year-old Brooke Weasley had been looking forward to for years. Her excitement showed as she practically danced around her room, her long red hair bouncing against her back and her dress tangling around her legs with each step. She didn't care, however, as she sang while moving around her room in search of her shoes.

"_Shopping for Hog-warts! We're goooing shopping for Hooogwarts!_"

Brooke danced her way over to her bed, pushing around the pile of stuffed animals and books as she tried to find her shoes. She was positive that she had kicked them off here after she came inside the night before, so they had to be around the window somewhere.

"_Gonna get my wa-aand_," Brooke continued to sing as she got on her hands and knees to check around the piles of clothes on the floor, "_And where are you hid-ing, shooooes?_"

"Brooke, shut up! Merlin, you sound like a banshee in here."

Brooke looked up, still on her hands and knees, and stared through a curtain of hair to see her older sister in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. People seldom believed that Brooke and Amelia were related, as there was very little in common in their appearance apart from their red hair and freckles. Amelia was pretty average in m height and build, while Brooke was awkwardly scrawny and taller than most her age, which meant Brooke was already starting to catch up to her sister in height.

"Have you seen my shoes, Amelia?" Brooke asked, sitting up and tucking her hair back, ignoring her sister's complaining.

"Why would I know where your shoes are?" Amelia asked, her blue eyes rolling towards the ceiling.

"Because last time my shoes disappeared it was because you decided to hide them in Godric's cage," Brooke said, referring to their family eagle owl—named Godric after one of the founders at Hogwarts. It was Amelia who had named him years before.

"Well, I didn't take them this time," Amelia said, "Maybe it was August?"

It was Brooke's turn to roll her eyes. August, Brooke and Amelia's brother, wasn't the type to pull pranks. He preferred hiding in his room, experimenting with Muggle things or playing Quidditch out in the yard with Henry—they were both part of their Quidditch teams, August for Gryffindor and Henry for Ravenclaw. Even though August could sometimes be absent-minded—half the time walking into a room and suddenly forgetting what he was doing—it definitely didn't go far enough that he'd mistakenly go into Brooke's room and, for some strange reason, steal her shoes.

"They were here at my bed," Brooke said, motioning around to the mess she was steadily increasing in her hunt for her shoes.

Amelia snorted, running a hand through her cut-short messy hair that she rarely seemed to ever comb down. She looked around at Brooke's mess, but didn't comment on it.

"I don't know where your shoes are," she said again, "But hurry up, Mum's nearly got breakfast done."

Amelia turned with that, leaving Brooke to her search. Brooke sighed, hoping that Amelia hadn't decided to hide her shoes again and continued her search. Luckily, she soon found them completely on the other side of the room under her desk that sat in a small nook under the only window to her room.

"Now how did you two get under there?" Brooke asked, sitting on the floor to pull the shoes on, fastening the straps, "I could have sworn you were by my bed."

Once ready, Brooke straightened her dress a bit and looked around the mess of her room. Her bedroom was small, with her bed against the wall and the nightstand between it and the door, and on the other side of the door the entire wall was taken up by her trunk and wardrobe, then the little nook to the front of the house where her desk sat at the window. Apparently, her room used to be storage space, until Brooke came along and they needed that extra bedroom. But Brooke liked her room. It was nice and comfortable and it suited her fine.

Brooke headed from her room, then down the stairs and into the dining room where Amelia was sitting with August. August and Amelia favored each other more than Brooke did, both of them being about average height and hair that stuck out at odd angles, though August often had his flattened down with a pair of Quidditch goggles he wore all the time for some unexplainable reason. Though, like Brooke, August's eyes were brown instead of the blue of Amelia's.

"Seems you found your shoes," Amelia said with a smirk as Brooke sat across from her siblings.

"About time, too," Bryt said as she scooped a pile of eggs on Brooke's plate, "That noise you were making up there, I was expecting to go up there and think a hurricane went through."

"Her room always looks like that," Ron said with a smirk.

"Wonder who she gets that from," Bryt replied sarcastically as she rolled her eyes, disappearing back through the door into the kitchen. Ron waited until Bryt was out of sight, then took a piece of bacon and held it down to feed the family's year-old dog.

"You better not be feeding Benny too much again," Bryt called from the other room.

"No, of course not!" Ron said quickly as he sat up. August and Amelia both laughed, and Brooke couldn't help but giggle herself.

In relation to their parents, Amelia was the one who looked most like their mother—despite not having the short and stocky stature, she favored their mother a lot in the shape of their faces—though she had the same red hair and blue eyes as their father and had an odd obsession with always wearing something pink. Brooke always thought it clashed horribly with her red hair, but Amelia insisted. August was more slim, like their father. Brooke was the one that took the most from the Weasley side of the family—and was often told she looked a lot like her Aunt Ginny, though her mother said she looked more like Ron. Both of these annoyed Brooke greatly. She hated being compared to others.

"Well, since Brooke's so great at finding things, maybe she can help me find my portable radio," August said, "It's gone missing, too."

The portable radio was relatively new to the wizarding world. Apparently, several years ago, a Muggleborn had been fascinated with wizard music but didn't like the radios that had to be shared with everyone in a room and the fact that he couldn't listen to the radio at home for fear of Muggle neighbors overhearing. After leaving Hogwarts, he had begun experimenting and finally created a portable radio with a Muggle thing called 'headphones' so someone could listen to music anywhere. Bryt once made the comment that portable radios looked a lot like something in the Muggle world called Walkmans.

"I'm sure it'll turn up eventually," Bryt said as she came back in the room, sitting down to her own plate of breakfast.

"Knowing you," Amelia said with a smirk at her older brother, "You probably should start looking in weird places. Like the bathroom or somewhere."

"That's not so weird," August said, wrinkling his nose, "I've left stuff in the bathroom all the time."

Brooke giggled, shaking her head as August and Amelia began arguing over what could count as a 'weird' place for August to have left his Portable radio. Brooke had to agree with Amelia on finding it, though. August often would put something down and forget about it for one reason or another, or mix things up on accident. Brooke had once found one of August's textbooks in the ice box, after all.

"Well, you don't need your portable radio today," Bryt finally cut off the older siblings.

"But—"

"No buts, August," Bryt said warningly, "You don't need it today."

August looked over at Ron, who shook his head, laughing.

"I'm not getting into this," he said, "Just do as your mother says. You can look for your portable radio when we get back home."

"Are we meeting up with everyone at the Leaky Cauldron?" Amelia asked, looking back to Bryt. Brooke looked up as well. She knew they almost always did shopping in Diagon Alley with the Potters and Garcías, and hoped today would be no different. Especially since her cousin, Albus, was going to be starting his first year too and Brooke was looking forward to shopping for school supplies with him.

"Yes, though I wouldn't be surprised if Hermione and Julio are already there with their kids," Bryt said, "Apparently, Henry made prefect this year."

"Hermione's going to be insufferable," Ron said with a groan, as if making a child making prefect was the worst thing to ever happen.

"Just be glad Henry _did_ make prefect," Bryt said with a glare at her husband, "I'd hate to have been around Hermione and Julio if Henry hadn't."

Brooke had to agree with her mother. Both Aunt Hermione and Uncle Julio were very big on responsibilities. Aunt Hermione had even been prefect herself in Hogwarts, while Uncle Julio—who had gone to Salem Witch's Institute in the United States—had held the similar position of vice secretary, and later secretary, for his dorm. Henry seemed to take after them in both need for order and responsibility, and their brains—he had been Sorted into Ravenclaw, after all.

Brooke felt the first pang of nervousness since she had received her acceptance letter and school list. What House would she be Sorted into? And Albus? Would they even end up in the same House?

_ 'Of course we will,'_ Brooke tried to tell herself, _'We're cousins.'_

Though the excuse sounded lame even to her. She knew that families didn't always end up in the same House. After all, her Aunt Hermione had been a Gryffindor, but Henry was a Ravenclaw. Brooke's Uncle Drew, one of her mother's younger brothers, had been a Hufflepuff, and his son, Tyler—who was three years older than Brooke—was a Hufflepuff as well. Not to mention Uncle Percy's daughter, Molly, was a Ravenclaw.

_ 'What if we don't get in Gryffindor? Or even in the same House?'_ Brooke thought, then with a sudden dread, _'What if we end up in Slytherin?'_

Brooke had known that if she somehow ended up in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw that she would be okay as she had family in both Houses. But in Slytherin...Brooke didn't want to end up in that House at all. Not after the stories that her siblings and cousins kept telling her.

"Time to get going," Bryt said, pulling Brooke from her thoughts. Brooke got up, trying to push away the worry about what House she'd be in. It was easy enough, her excitement over getting school supplies taking control.

"Dad, can I get an owl?" Brooke asked as she followed behind her parents and siblings.

"Of course," Ron said with a grin, patting his daughter on the head, "Any owl you want."

Brooke grinned brightly at that. She had remembered, when Amelia got her owl two years before, seeing cages with small owls that she had liked. Amelia said that they were scops owls, and couldn't understand why anyone would want any type of owl the same size as a Pygmy Puff. Brooke definitely liked them, though, and planned to get one as her owl while in Diagon Alley.

"Ron, you first," Bryt said, pulling the jar of Floo Powder off the fireplace mantle and holding it out towards her husband.

Ron nodded, taking a handful of powder and tossing it into the fireplace, turning the flames an emerald green. He stepped into the flames and, with a clear "Diagon Alley", was gone. August followed behind, then Amelia, Brooke, and Bryt.

"Brooke!"

Albus Potter was the first person Brooke saw as she stepped out of the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron, mainly because the boy had run up to her with an excited grin. With his messy black hair and bright green eyes, the boy looked a lot like his father.

"Hey Al!" Brooke said happily, "Can you believe we're finally going to go to Hogwarts? I can't wait!"

"Can't you two give it a rest already?" James, Albus's one-year-older brother, asked with a groan, rolling his brown eyes.

"Oh, stop complaining," Fí said with a toothy grin, ruffling James's dark auburn hair, "We were just as excited last year, remember?"

Fí García was Aunt Hermione and Uncle Julio's younger child. She had rather large front teeth, dark brown eyes, and a mess of wildly bushy brown hair that seemed to make her mother's seem tame. And, unlike both of her parents, Fí was mischievous, often loving to tease and prank others. Which was why she was such close friends with James.

Brooke noticed her Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny were waiting there as well, but not Uncle Julio, Aunt Hermione, nor Henry.

"Dad had to work," Fí said, noticing Brooke looking around, "Mum's at Flourish and Blotts with Henry. He's looking to see if there's a book for him to try and learn Norwegian."

"Why does he want to learn Norwegian?" Albus asked.

Fí shrugged.

"The Triwizard Tournament's at Durmstrang next year," August answered, "Henry just makes the cut to be able to go. He asked his head of House at the end of last year to ask what language he should start learning to get on better with Durmstrang students."

"Why didn't he get a book back then?" Brooke asked.

"'Cause Mum and Dad don't want him going," Fí said, "They kept putting off getting him the book and forbade him from getting it himself or getting a friend to get it for him. Probably hoping he'd give up. But when he made Prefect, they promised to get him whatever he wanted. He decided to get a translation book. They couldn't back out of it this time."

"Henry's too much of a bookworm to be a Hogwarts Champion," James said, "Sucks that by the time it comes back to Hogwarts, I'll have left. That just isn't fair."

"Especially since we'd miss it by only a year!" Fí added.

"Oi!" Ron called from the back door of the Leaky Cauldron, "What's keeping you? I thought you were excited to get school supplies, Brooke!"

Brooke exchanged a bright grin with Albus and the two hurried off after Ron while Fí and James followed behind. With the excitement of finally getting her wand, the thoughts of something that wouldn't happen for another year was pushed fully from her mind.

Their first stop was Gringotts. Neither of Brooke nor Albus liked riding in the carts, so they were allowed to wait outside—and only then because Henry and Aunt Hermione had returned from Flourish and Blotts so they could watch the two.

Brooke watched people walking by—and occasionally passing them on the steps on their way in or out from Gringotts—feeling annoyed. She and Albus were elven years old—and Brooke would be twelve in just a few months—yet their parents didn't trust them to do as much as sit by themselves in front of Gringotts for half an hour. Brooke glanced at Henry, who had already immersed himself in his translation book, apparently trying to mouth out the pronunciations as he read over it. Aunt Hermione was beside him, occasionally glancing at the book with an annoyed expression. At least Henry was enjoying himself. Though Brooke was sure that if he wanted to go off by himself somewhere, Uncle Julio and Aunt Hermione would let _him_.

"Okay, money taken care of."

Brooke and Albus both looked up to see their parents had come back out, James and Fí right behind them as well as the youngest Potter child, Lily. Two years younger than Brooke and Albus, Lily looked a lot like her mother, with the same red hair and dark brown eyes, and even the shape of her face was very similar. Brooke thought Lily, at least, looked more like Aunt Ginny than she did—despite what people kept telling her.

Bryt grinned as she looked over at Ron, "I'm going to go with Ginny to get their books, potion supplies, and all of that. Why don't you and Harry go with them to get their wands and robes? We'll meet up at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes."

"Sounds good," Ron said with a nod. Bryt and Aunt Ginny both gave their husbands a quick kiss before leaving, Aunt Hermione and Henry going with them, despite the fact they'd just come from the bookstore. Fí and James both said something about wanting ice cream and headed off on their own as well, so that left Albus and Brooke with Ron and Uncle Harry.

As they headed to Ollivander's, Brooke and Albus began talking about what they were most excited for at Hogwarts. Brooke was eager for their Potions classes and both she and Albus were looking forward to Defense Against the Dark Arts, though Brooke was also a bit wary. James and Fí both insisted that Emily Hughes, the Defense Against Dark Arts professor, was a cruel and terrifying woman. Though Henry tried to reassure them that James and Fí were only trying to scare them, it still left Brooke on edge about the class. Of course, she would learn about it soon enough.

Besides their classes, both cousins were also looking forward to the Quidditch season, though Albus began to talk excitedly about starting to train up to try out for the team next year. Brooke was fine keeping her feet on the ground, however. She was terrified of heights. She much preferred to watch the sport than play it.

They reached Ollivander's and went inside, passing a mother and her daughter just leaving. The store was quite brightly lit and almost creepily clean, not a speck of dust or a single box out of place. It was a bit unnerving, really. Brooke couldn't help but think that there could be such a thing as 'too clean'.

"Hogwarts, both of you?" a young man grinned brightly as they came in. He was nicely dressed and seemed a bit eager to have customers.

"I don't remember you last year," Harry said slowly.

"Oh, no, I was just apprenticing then," the man said with a bright grin, "I'm John Ollivander. I just took over fully last month."

"Probably not the best thing to tell customers," Ron muttered behind Brooke. That suddenly made Brooke nervous.

"Don't worry, I'm quite good at what I do," Ollivander said, "And I'm fast. Most wands one of mine has had to try is five!"

He sounded very proud of himself at that and Brooke glanced at Albus next to her. She wasn't sure if she was reassured by that or not.

Luckily for them, Ollivander wasn't exaggerating when it came to the wands. The man really did seem to have a knack for picking out the right wand. After only three tries, Albus had his new wand—ash wood, twelve inches, with a unicorn hair core. Brooke received hers on the second—sycamore, thirteen inches, and a dragon heartstring core. The wands were paid for and they left the shop, Albus and Brooke admiring their own and comparing them to each other. Brooke couldn't wait to get home and try out some spells.

Robe shopping took a lot longer, mainly in the wait for their measurements to be taken, then several sets of robes to be made. Once they were finally done, they headed for Eeylops Owl Emporium. Brooke was quick to pick out a scops owl, whom she immediately named Tina—a name she'd had picked out for quite some time. Albus chose a long eared owl, but said he didn't know what to name him yet.

Once they had everything, Ron and Uncle Harry led the way to Uncle George's shop. This was Brooke and Albus's favorite place in Diagon Alley. It was always crowded and busy, but Uncle George always took a couple of minutes to say hello to his family. Brooke noticed her cousins Fred, who was three years older than herself, and Roxanne, who was four years younger than her, over by the cash register. Roxanne was sitting on the counter, talking excitedly, while Fred, wearing the magenta work robes, was helping a customer. Both were dark-skinned and dark-haired, taking after their mother, so they didn't quite match the description one got of a 'Weasley'.

The rest of the family was already in the crowded store. Brooke saw Amelia had noticed her friend, Willow Wood, over by self-inking quills and the two girls had started chatting. August was by himself, intently studying the shelf of invisible hats as if he could figure out how they were made just by staring at them long enough. August did that a lot, Brooke noticed. She always thought it was weird.

Fí and James were, unsurprisingly, making their way through the store, both of them already holding armloads of supplies. Henry was over in a corner, again unsurprisingly, reading. Lily was over with Aunt Ginny, looking at the pigmy puffs, and Brooke saw her mother and Aunt Hermione talking near the register. Bryt kept looking towards Fí and James, however. Brooke had a feeling her mother was trying to run interference and keep the two from buying too much to sneak to Hogwarts.

"What do you think Uncle George will put in our kits?" Albus asked quietly, making sure they were out of earshot of their parents.

"I don't know," Brooke shook her head, "Though from what I've heard, I hope there's some daydream charms. Those will come in handy in History of Magic."

Uncle George did this with all of the family during their first year at Hogwarts. He called them his "Hogwarts Survival Kits". He'd give each of them a kit of assorted Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes 'carefully hand-picked to custom-fit each child, niece, or nephew'.

"I'd prefer a box of Skiving Snackboxes," Albus said, "A whole mix of them."

"Oh, those would be good..." Brooke said slowly, grinning, "I'd love some fake wands."

"I could use some spell-check quills..."

"Just be careful," Brooke said, "Dad told me they wear off after time."

The two continued to theorize on what they could be getting when the moment finally came and Brooke heard her Uncle George calling for her and Albus. The two grinned at each other, then worked their way through the crowd towards where their uncle was in the back corner.

"Now, I hear you two are starting your first year of Hogwarts," Uncle George said with his usual mischievous grin, "And something every young Weasley, or Potter, needs is a Survival Pack. Something to help them live through the dullness of classes."

Brooke and Albus exchanged an excited grin. The moment they were both waiting for.

"Of course, your parents wouldn't approve of this," George said, "And they've caught on after James and Fí last year, so I'll have to send you two yours by owl once you're at Hogwarts—but don't worry, you'll both get them before you start classes."

"Can you at least tell us what's in them?" Albus asked eagerly.

George chuckled.

"Where's the joy in surprise if I tell you?" he asked, ruffling Albus's short hair, "Now hurry on, before your parents start coming over here to ask too many questions."

George hurried off to a nearby customer and Brooke looked back at her cousin.

"I can't believe we have to wait until we're at school," Albus said with a groan.

"Remind me to clobber James and Fí," Brooke looked over, glaring at the two, "If they'd just been a bit more subtle, we'd have our kits now."

"Those two are never subtle."

Brooke couldn't help but agree. James and Fí were the type who thought if they weren't attracting the attention of half the street around them, then it wasn't worth doing. They excelled at getting in trouble.

"Ready to go, Brooke?"

Brooke looked over her shoulder to see her mother had come up to them. She also noticed that James and Fí looked quite put out, leaving the shop empty-handed. It looked like they got caught trying to get away with getting a bit too much from Uncle George's store.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Brooke said with a nod. Bryt grinned at her in response.

"Okay, let's go," she said, starting for the door, "And I hope that I won't be receiving letters from the school about the trouble you're causing with whatever it is your uncle will be sending you," Bryt said.

Brooke glanced at Albus next to her. The way mothers knew when something was up despite the fact there's no way they should was always creepy. Brooke wasn't going to say that, though.

"I'll be perfectly well-behaved, Mum," she said instead.

"I'll believe that when I don't get the letters."

"What trust she has in us," Brooke muttered and Albus snorted next to her.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, Mum," Brooke said with a grin as they left the store. The rest of the family was already there—except for the Garcías. Uncle Harry said that Aunt Hermione wanted to head on home so the kids could get an early start on packing.

Bryt watched Brooke for a moment, with that 'mum look' that made Brooke squirm and want to blurt every wrong thing she'd done in her life, from sneaking the parts of her food she didn't want to their dog, to sneaking out of the house with her dad's wand that one time to try and practice magic. That resulted in a nice hole in the fence near the garden, which Brooke avoided even getting into the conversation of how that one had happened.

But then Bryt looked away, leading them back down the street and Brooke breathed a sigh of relief. Crisis averted.


	2. Summer Ends

Brooke spent the rest of the summer engulfed in her spell book and her wand, trying to practice spells she could. It was a lot harder than she thought and the most she managed was to was set fire to the couch and scaring poor Benny. Bryt forbid Brooke from practicing her spells before getting to Hogwarts after that.

Albus visited occasionally with his family. Brooke learned from one of these visits that Albus had named his owl Rabbit—though not by choice. Lily had given the owl the name and it ended up sticking.

James and Fí were both relentless with their teasing, as was Amelia. There was constant talk of various horrible tests they'd have to go through for the Sorting, and how some people were unsortable and sent back home. Bryt kept telling them this wasn't true, but it still left Brooke worried. What if she was that one person who was unsortable? Or what if she didn't end up in Gryffindor? Sure, there were a few of her family members in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, but the majority of her family were Gryffindors. Her parents and older siblings were Gryffindors. Most all her aunts and uncles were Gryffindors—Her Uncle Drew had been Hufflepuff, and Uncle Julio didn't even go to Hogwarts. Brooke didn't know what she'd do if she wasn't in Gryffindor as well.

When September first came, Brooke was up much earlier than the rest of her family, sick with nerves. She even ended up rushing to the bathroom across the hall from her bedroom and threw up. She had hoped that since it was so early, no one would notice. Unfortunately, Brooke's luck was short that day. August had come in. Brooke hadn't thought to lock the door.

"Nerves, huh?" August asked gently as he squatted down next to Brooke, helping pull her hair from her face.

Brooke looked up at her brother, trembling slightly as she tried to ignore the bitter taste in her mouth.

"I was throwing up my first day," August said with a grin, "Don't listen to anything the others say. You'll be fine."

Brooke leaned back against the wall of the bathroom, wrapping her arms around her knees and resting her chin against them as she stared at her brother. He always seemed so absent-minded, so clueless at times. The thought of him being nervous about anything was something Brooke had trouble imagining. She wasn't about to say that to him, though.

"What if I'm not in Gryffindor?" she asked instead.

August shrugged.

"Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff aren't bad," he said, "I mean, Teddy was in Hufflepuff. And Tyler's in Hufflepuff. Then Henry and Molly are both in Ravenclaw. You'll be fine no matter where you go."

"What about Slytherin?" Brooke asked in a whisper.

"You're too nice for Slytherin."

Brooke managed a shaky grin. Despite how absent-minded and clueless he was most of the time, when August was brilliant, he was very brilliant. And the fact he remembered what Brooke had said four years ago, when Ron joked about if August ended up in Slytherin...

"There you go," August said, "C'mon, get yourself cleaned up. You have more than enough time to get a shower before we need to start getting ready to leave."

Brooke nodded, her shaking starting to settle down now. She watched August leave, giving a real grin this time. In August's moments of being extraordinarily helpful, it made it hard to believe that August could be so absent-minded and clueless.

An hour later, Brooke was back in her room after brushing her teeth to rid herself of the bitter taste in her mouth. She was now freshly showered and dressed in her favorite top and ankle-length skirt. Now all clean and freshly dressed, and August's words in her mind, she felt much better.

The rest of her family was awake now and Brooke could hear her parents' muffled voices downstairs in the kitchen. Despite her nerves settling, Brooke still found herself wanting to put off going downstairs as long as possible. Instead, she started to double and triple-check that everything was packed in her trunk, including the stuffed hippogriff that she was determined to take—no matter how much ridicule she might get for keeping a stuffed animal. She liked her hippogriff. It was sort-of a lucky charm for her. It had been given to her after she broke her arm from the 'tree incident' as she called it—She and Albus were five and were climbing around in one of the trees in the yard. Brooke had lost her balance on a branch and fell out, breaking her arm. That incident was also why Brooke was not a fan of heights anymore.

Even after Uncle Julio had fixed Brooke's arm good as new within seconds, Brooke had still been upset. Her father had gotten her the stuffed hippogriff that afternoon to cheer her up and Brooke had kept it at her bedside ever since. It was like a plushy lucky charm.

Brooke had wasted another half-hour checking everything in her room and making sure she had everything packed. Now she couldn't put off going downstairs any longer, especially since her mother was calling her down.

Brooke found her shoes on her desk chair and slipped them on before heading down the stairs, her wet hair sticking to the side of her face and dampening her shirt. Benny had bounced over, wagging his tail as he followed along beside Brooke. Brooke felt her chest tighten a bit. After today, she wasn't going to get to see her dog for months...

"Brooke, you'll catch a cold out there like that," Bryt said, pulling out her wand and beckoning Brooke over. She cast a quick spell to dry Brooke's hair and shirt, then pulled out a chair for Brooke to sit down.

Luckily, August seemed content with keeping to himself the incident with Brooke that morning, though he did give Brooke a reassuring grin from across the table. Brooke grinned back before picking up one of the pieces of bacon her mother put on her plate, though she only broke off a small piece to eat. In the time upstairs, her nerves were starting to pick up again and she was afraid if she ate too much, she'd end up throwing up again. Brooke just sat and nitpicked at the first piece of bacon, then slowly started on a second, in the time it took the rest of her family to fully eat their eggs, bacon, and toast. It didn't help that Amelia and August were talking excitedly about seeing their friends in Gryffindor again. It just reminded Brooke she had no idea what House she'd be in...

"Are you okay, Brooke?" Bryt asked, "You aren't eating much."

"I'm just not hungry," Brooke replied, not looking up. She finished her second piece of bacon and stood up, "I'm going to make sure I have everything packed."

"Just make it quick, it's almost time to go," Ron said.

Brooke nodded, heading up the stairs back to her room. She knew everything was already packed. She'd checked more times than she could count in the past hour. She just wanted to get away for a moment, still worrying about the Sorting.

Brooke went over to the cage with her owl, Tina, and opened the door to pet the owl.

"You're lucky," she said, "It won't matter to you what House I end up in. You don't even know the differences in the Houses..."

Brooke sighed and closed the cage again, going over and sitting at her desk, staring out at the road leading away from her home.

"Of course, what House I end up in is only part of it..." Brooke muttered to herself, "I'll miss being home..."

She'd lived here her entire life. She was at this home every day. It was odd that she wouldn't see it again until late December...That she wasn't going to wake up in this room...Benny had only been around a year, but she was already used to him running around the house or helping himself to her bed, even if she was still in it...Then there was she wouldn't even be home for her birthday this year.

Brooke felt the nausea returning at that thought, and she looked back out the window.

"Oh, I hope I'm in Gryffindor..." she muttered. She wanted to make her family proud—and she felt like she belonged in Gryffindor more than any other House. She liked to think she was the brave sort. She had to be when she was determined to be an Auror, after all.

Brooke saw her siblings heading outside now, loading their trunks into the boot of the car, Benny sitting nearby with his tail wagging, and knew it was time to go. Brooke got up, her nerves twisting her stomach into knots again. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down, and grabbed Tina's cage, as well as her trunk. She paused to look around her room, realizing, once again, this would be the last time she saw this room until December.

"To think I was so excited about Hogwarts a month ago..." Brooke muttered to herself. Now she was terrified, already feel the pangs of homesickness. And she hadn't even left the house yet.

"Brooke! Hurry up!" Ron called from downstairs.

Brooke sighed. She couldn't put this off any longer.

"Time to go," Brooke said, trying to get her nerves under control, "Get a grip. You're going to be an Auror one day, you need to get used to big changes."

Brooke had always been fascinated with her father's job, and almost ever since she could talk, she followed Ron whenever he came home from work, begging for stories about his day. She loved the idea of chasing Dark Wizards and going through dangerous situations to protect others. Being an Auror would be challenging, something Brooke was well aware of. And her nerves and homesickness before even leaving home weren't exactly the best quality for one who was planning to go into such a dangerous field of work.

Brooke closed her eyes, taking another deep breath to try and calm her nerves. She could do this. Like she had said, she was going to be an Auror. She had to face her fears head on and work through them. With a sharp nod, Brooke opened her eyes again and headed off down the stairs. She got outside where her family was waiting and made herself grin so they wouldn't realize how nervous she was, though she noticed August watching her from where he was waiting by the open car door.

"About time," Amelia said, "If we miss the train because of you, I'm going to give hit you with the worst bat-boogey hex you've ever seen."

"_Amelia_," Bryt said warningly, glaring at his daughter, "In the car. Now."

"Here, let me get your trunk for you," August came over, taking Brooke's trunk and getting it into the boot of the car with the others.

Once the boot was closed, Amelia and August got into the car, Amelia balancing the cage with her barn owl—Pig—inside. Brooke hesitated, but finally got in, resting Tina's cage in her lap and staring at her home after the door was closed. This was it. She was heading off to Hogwarts and she wouldn't see her home for months.

"Everyone ready back there?" Ron asked from behind the wheel, Bryt in the passenger side with Benny between them. Everyone nodded and Ron started up the car, heading off down the road.

Brooke turned slightly and watched until her home disappeared in the distance, desperate to get every last second of sight she could of the little blue house she lived in. The trees in the yard she liked to lay under in the summer shade. The pond nearby she soaked her feet in or swam in when it got too hot. The yard she and Albus run around playing in, or August played Quidditch in with Henry...The house she wouldn't see for months...She swallowed down a lump in her throat, turning back in her seat. This was it. She was on her way to her first year at Hogwarts.

_ 'Merlin, I hope I'm ready for this...'_ Brooke thought.


	3. Hogwarts Arrival

Fog set in by the time they reached King's Cross and it seemed even worse on platform nine-and-three-quarters. Brooke looked around anxiously, her nerves still twisting her stomach in knots. She hoped that it would at least settle down some once she was with Albus. August and Amelia had already left to find their friends, leaving Brooke with her parents. Brooke stood still, wrapping a strand of her long hair around her hand as she squinted through the fog for any sign of the Potters.

Ron suddenly said that he thought he saw the others and started leading the group off through the fog.

"_Our_ Teddy! _Teddy Lupin_!" James's voice drifted through the fog from nearby, "Snogging _our_ Victoire! _Our_ cousin! And I asked Teddy what he was doing and he said he'd come to see her off! And then he told me to go away. He's _snogging_ her!"

Brooke reached the group just in time to see Fí jump on James's back, her arms around his shoulders and resting her face next to his.

"You're just jealous because no one in their right mind'll ever snog you," she said.

James quickly pushed Fí away and the girl just laughed.

"Sorry we're late," Bryt said, "August and Amelia have already headed off to their friends."

"Henry has, too," Uncle Julio said, looking towards the train.

"It's nearly eleven," Uncle Harry said, checking his watch, "You were cutting it close."

Brooke looked over at Albus, grinning weakly and Albus grinned back, coming over to them.

"Watch out for thestrals, you two!" James called as he and Fí disappeared onto the train. Brooke exchanged a frightened look with her cousin next to her.

"Mum!" Brooke said loudly, turning to Bryt. To Brooke's surprise, her mother was grinning.

"Don't worry, thestrals are perfectly harmless," she said, "Hurry up, get on the train."

Brooke wasn't all that reassured on the whole thestral thing. Though she hugged both her parents tightly, each one lasting longer than usual, and finally squatted down to hug Benny, kissing the dog on the head before gathering up her skirt and getting on the train, letting her father help with her trunk and her mother hand up Tina's owl cage.

"We'll see you at Christmas, Brooke," Ron said, waving as Brooke leaned out of the window. Brooke swallowed back the lump in her throat at the thought. This was becoming real. She was standing on the train now. She wasn't going to see her parents for months...Brooke didn't want to look away, but from the corner of her eye she noticed Albus was still talking with Uncle Harry.

"Albus, come on!" Brooke called. Albus looked over at her, then back to Uncle Harry, who grinned and whispered something before helping Albus onto the train with his trunk and owl. Albus was soon leaning out the window beside Brooke.

"Be good, Brooke!" Bryt was saying, pulling Brooke's attention back to her own family, "Tell Neville, Drew, and Hagrid we said hello!"

"We will!" Brooke called, waving back as the train started to move. With that small jolt, Brooke felt her heart jump in her throat. It was happening. It was really happening. The train was starting off...

Lily began running along the platform, chasing the train as she waved while Benny bounced along at her feet. Brooke remembered how she had done the same thing four years before when August went to his first year at Hogwarts. Brooke couldn't help but wonder if, two years from now, Lily would be feeling as nauseous and nervous as Brooke did now...

Slowly, the train went around a corner, and platform nine-and-three-quarters disappeared into the fog. Brooke felt that same pang of loss and homesickness. There was no turning back now. She was on her way to Hogwarts.

"C'mon, let's find a compartment," Albus said, pulling away from the window. Brooke sighed and pulled away from the window, turning to follow her cousin.

Every compartment they passed seemed to be crowded already, or either had students much older than eleven, so neither wanted to risk asking to sit with them. Brooke noticed that August was in a compartment, only with his friend Bethany Williams. Brooke would have asked to join them, but the two were sitting quite close and talking quietly with each other—Brooke swore the two fancied each other and it would be only a matter of time before they were dating. She wasn't about to get in between that. She liked Bethany.

Brooke's sister was in a compartment with her friends, the siblings Ashton and Willow Wood. Brooke knew better than to ask to sit with them—or to sit with James and Fí in another compartment. Brooke's cousin Dominique was with her usual group of girls—none of whom Brooke really knew—and Brooke didn't see either Lucy or Tyler. Brooke wouldn't have minded much sitting with either of them. Tyler was exactly like Uncle Drew, always willing to help and give a friendly smile, and Lucy was incredibly sweet and nice—especially for being Uncle Percy's daughter.

They finally found a compartment with only one person in it—a girl who seemed about their age, with her dark curly hair pulled into a thick, bushy ponytail. She jumped slightly when the compartment door opened and stared at the cousins and the gray tabby in the girl's lap lifted its head, watching the newcomers cautiously with dark brown eyes.

"Um...Mind if we join you?" Brooke asked.

The girl looked them over, then gave a slow nod, looking quickly out the window again. Brooke exchanged a look with Albus before heading in, lugging their trunks into the overhead rack and putting their owls up there as well before sitting down.

"I'm Brooke. Brooke Weasley," Brooke introduced herself quickly, "And this is my cousin, Albus Potter."

The girl's eyes widened as she stared at Brooke and her cousin, and Brooke felt the heat rise to her face, sinking back in her chair a bit. She knew their parents were famous. They never really talked about it, but it was hard not to notice the stares they got when out shopping or at Quidditch games, or the stories from her family who've already started Hogwarts. But now actually seeing this reaction up close, seeing the way this girl was watching them, studying them...Brooke hated it. She felt like she was being thought of as 'the war heroes daughter'. She always hated feeling compared to others.

An awkward silence fell over the group for several moments before Albus finally cleared his throat.

"What's your name?" he asked, and the girl jumped slightly again.

"Paige Blackwood," she said quietly, looking quickly down to her cat.

"Your tabby's very pretty," Brooke said.

"Thanks," Paige muttered, "His name is Stripes."

Albus snorted, and Paige tensed, looking embarrassed. Brooke elbowed her cousin hard in the side.

"Stripes is a nice name," Brooke said, "So, what House are you in?"

"I don't know, I'm a first year," Paige said.

"We're first years, too," Albus said, then looking more confident than Brooke had seen him earlier, "Brooke and I are going to be in Gryffindor."

"You don't know that," Brooke said, though she hoped he would be right as she turned back to Paige, "We're _hoping_ to be in Gryffindor. You?"

"I don't know," Paige said, shaking her head, "My mother was in Ravenclaw..."

"What about your father?" Albus asked. Paige shook her head.

"He's Muggle," Paige said, "He didn't go to Hogwarts."

"My Grandpa Greg is Muggle," Brooke said with a grin, "My Mum's dad. She grew up Muggleborn. Mum's always told me a lot of stories."

Paige looked embarrassed again and she gave a little nod before turning her attention back to her cat. She seemed unwilling to talk more, so the carriage fell into an uneasy silence again as Brooke looked out the window, her nerves taking over again. She wished she had Albus's confidence about what House they'd be in...

Brooke looked at her cousin at that. Where had his sudden confidence come from? Up to that morning, he'd been just as nervous as she had about the Sorting...Now he seemed to know for a fact they'd both be in Gryffindor...How could he know?

When the trolley came by, Brooke only got a couple of liquorice wands, still not wanting to eat much for fear of getting sick again. She watched as Albus went through his Chocolate Frog cards, tossing aside the ones he already had. Paige had only gotten a few cauldron cakes for herself. Again, the carriage ride was incredibly quiet. Brooke hated the quiet. It meant she didn't have any distraction from her nerves and the longer the train ride went, the more antsy she got. Unfortunately, she couldn't think of anything to say. Or the few times she did, Paige will give a short reply, then silence would fall again. Not even Albus trying to get something started, offering to trade Chocolate Frog cards with Paige, did anything to help.

As the sky grew darker outside, a light rain began to fall, which soon became an outright downpour. It didn't seem willing to let up. In fact, as the train pulling into Hogsmeade station and Brooke, Albus, and Paige had pulled on their robes, it only seemed to be raining harder. Brooke groaned loudly. Just her luck.

"I'm not looking forward to going across the lake in this..." Brooke said, instinctively wrapping her robes closer around her. Her mother had told her first years entered the castle by crossing the lake in boats, getting their first view of Hogwarts from the water.

"Hopefully it'll be warm in the castle," Paige said softly, staring out at the dark rain.

Knowing they couldn't put it off, the three left their things on the train—as they were told someone would get them to the castle—and followed the crowd onto the platform, each pulling up the hood of their robes for better protection from the rain, huddling together.

"First years! First years over here, please! This way!"

Brooke exchanged a look with Albus, and Paige, then started making their way towards the voice—a tall woman in bright green robes that stood out in the darkness of the rain and fog like an eerily glowing ghost. A crowd of students that seemed around the same age as Brooke was already starting to crowd around her. Brooke couldn't tell what any of them looked like because they, like Brooke, Albus, and Paige, had their robes tight around them and their hoods over their heads.

Brooke and the others stood among the crowd, already soaked-through and shivering, staying as close as they could for warmth as they waited for the last of the first years to make their way over to the woman calling them forward.

"Everyone here?" the woman asked, looking around the group, as if counting heads, "All right, follow me, everyone."

The first years stayed quiet, moving in a tight huddle, and occasionally tripping over each other as they splashed through the muddy trail, following the tall woman ahead of them. Following the green beacon through the rain, a guiding glow among the gloominess.

"I don't know how well you'll see it through the rain, but Hogwarts will come into sight just around the corner up ahead," the woman was saying, "When we get to the lake we'll be crossing."

As they came around the corner, Brooke squinted through the rain, still shivering. She could see lights in the distance and the faint outline of a castle, but not much else through the thick rain. Just Brooke's luck. She wasn't even going to get the magnificent view so many talked about seeing on their first day at Hogwarts.

"The boats are along the shore here," the woman said, "Pick one and hop in, only four to a boat, though."

Brooke got into the nearest boat with Albus and Paige and they were joined by a hooded first year that Brooke had no idea what they looked like, or even if they was a he or she. The four of them huddling together as close as they dared for warmth. Brooke was still freezing, her shaking and nerves making her very nauseous again. She just wanted to get into the castle and get the Sorting over with.

The boat ride across the lake was wet and miserable. Brooke was very relieved when they got into the shelter of the docks and everyone climbed out onto the slippery surface at the base of the stairs. When it came their turn, Albus Paige, and the third student got out of the boat easy enough, but Brooke had more trouble. Right as Brooke stood up, starting to step onto the dock, she felt something catch her ankle just as she stepped over the edge of the boat, causing her to lose balance. The boat moved away from the docks and Brooke screamed, falling into the water.


	4. The Sorting

When Brooke broke surface, the first years around them were laughing. She felt the heat rise to her face as she made reached the edge of the docks to try and get out of the water. The woman who had been leading them hurried over, helping Brooke out of the water and Brooke instinctively looked to the boat that had been behind hers. The boy up front was smirking while the three behind them were laughing loudly. Brooke glared at the narrow-faced boy, noticing he was slipping his wand into his pocket. Brooke suddenly had the strong feeling that she hadn't just lost balance getting out of her boat.

"Are you okay?"

Brooke looked up at the woman in green robes as she wrapped her soaked robes tighter around her. The woman had her hood back now, showing her dark skin and her black hair pulled back into a messy bun.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Brooke said. She had already been soaked through due to the rain—her dunk in the water hadn't made it any worse.

The woman nodded, going over and knocking on the door nearby. Brooke moved back closer to Albus, shivering in the cool air, ignoring her long hair sticking to her face and neck. She, like most of the other students, was trying to ring out as much of the water from her clothes and hair as possible.

After a minute, the door opened and a short, stern-faced man was standing there. He was bald, his face lined with wrinkles, and seemed the type of man that it would be stupid to cross.

"Here's the new first years, Callum," the tall woman said, gesturing around at the group.

"Very good, Megan. You may go."

The woman nodded, heading off through the doors behind the short man. After a moment, he beckoned for the first years to follow, and stepped through himself.

Brooke glanced at her cousin before joining the crowd, sure they had just met the assistant headmaster whom James and Fí complained about often in letters over the year before. So many stories about how he was stern and harsh and would put someone in detention for being ten seconds late for class. Bryt hoped her cousins had been exaggerating...

"I am Professor Hogmer," the short man said when he stopped the group in a small corridor off the entrance hallway, "Allow me to welcome you to Hogwarts. Before you join the rest of the school for the annual start-of-term feast, you will be Sorted into your respective Houses.

"They are Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor. It will be wise to make friends with your Housemates for, while you are at this school, they will be your family. You will spend your off hours within your House common rooms, and sleep within your House dormitories. Good deeds and excellent schoolwork will gain you House points. Trouble-making is not tolerated within these walls. Any actions that break school rules will lose your House points, and most likely the favoritism of your Housemates.

"The Sorting will begin as soon as we walk through these doors, so straighten yourselves up and file into a line. There's not much help for your wet robes, but I still expect you to make a good impression on your fellow students."

Professor Hogmer waited as everyone got themselves into a line, and the narrow-faced boy and his friends nearly knocked Albus to the ground when he tried to push ahead of them, obviously trying to get to the head of the line. Brooke glared at the boy as she helped her cousin back to his feet. Hogmer saw this and pulled the narrow-faced boy to the side.

"Actions like this is what will not be tolerated in my presence," he addressed the crowd, holding the narrow-faced boy by the back of the robes, "It doesn't matter where you'll be in this line, as I will be calling your names alphabetically by surname." Professor Hogmer turned to the boy next to him. "But you will go to the end of the line."

He pushed the boy forward and turned away. The narrow-faced boy glared at Professor Hogmer by his friends before heading to the end of the line, grumbling something under his breath.

Once everyone was in the line, Brooke was starting to feel as if she'd throw up again. She looked around for any sign of anyone being as nervous as her and noticed one girl seemed almost green. At least she wasn't alone. Though soon the line was moving and Brooke turned ahead of her again, heading into the Great Hall.

Despite her nerves, Brooke was in awe of the room. Four long tables spanned nearly the entire length, with a fifth table across one wall at the head of the room. Brooke saw her Uncle Drew sitting between Hagrid and Neville—_'Professor Watkins. Professor Longbottom,' _Brooke reminded herself—and all three waved at them as the first years passed. Brooke gave a small wave back and noticed the black woman who escorted them was sitting on Hagrid's other side and seemed to be in the middle of a conversation with the man already. Once the line stopped, Brooke looked around and became very aware of everyone in the hall staring at them.

Brooke swallowed, trembling from cold and nerves as she looked above her at the ceiling that reflected the rainy weather outside, the view broken by hundreds of floating candles.

"Is that the Sorting Hat?" Albus whispered next to Brooke. She looked over at a stool in front of them where an old hat was now sitting. Their parents had said that the Sorting just consisted of sitting on a stool and let a talking hat put them in a House but they hadn't quite believed it until now.

As if hearing Albus and wanting to reply, the hat suddenly moved, its brim spreading apart as it broke into song:

_I may look like just a hat_

_But I assure you I'm more_

_For when you put me on your head_

_There's one thing that you'll be sure_

_I'll look deep within you_

_And say, as pointed out in this song_

_Which House suits you best_

_The House you truly belong_

_Maybe you belong in Gryffindor_

_Where there they are brave_

_Never will they back down_

_Never will they cave_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_Where dwell the most cunning_

_Always the most resourceful_

_With ambition most stunning_

_But maybe in Hufflepuff_

_Who're truthful, fair, and just_

_One thing is especially sure_

_Friends here you can trust_

_Of course, there's Ravenclaw_

_Those who value their minds_

_Cleverness is held high_

_And their wit in kind_

_So put me on, don't be afraid_

_I assure I won't bite_

_It'll just take a moment_

_And you'll be in a new light_

The Great Hall broke into applause and Brooke huddled her robes closer around her, looking around nervously. She spotted her siblings along the Gryffindor table and silently prayed she'd soon be sitting with them.

"When I call your name," Professor Hogmer called, picking up the Sorting Hat, "Step forward and I will place this hat on your head." He looked to the piece of parchment in his other hand, "Barnett, Sarah."

A terrified-looking girl with black hair in pigtails and rain-smeared glasses tripped over her robes on the way to the stool, her face flushed as she sat down. The Sorting Hat seemed to swallow her head completely as Professor Hogmer placed it down.

After only a few seconds, the hat spread open its brim again and shouted "GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table erupted into cheers as Professor Hogmer removed the hat and the terrified Sarah rushed over to join her new House.

"Bartlett, Michelle!"

A short, brown-haired girl walked up to the stool, giving off an air of arrogance in her smile as she sat down and the hat was placed on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table began cheering again and the brown-haired girl walked over to join them.

"Blackwood, Paige!"

Paige swallowed hard, trembling even harder than even Brooke as she slowly made her way to the stool. The girl hunched her shoulders, extremely tense and Brooke easily imagined her squeezing her eyes shut as the hat was lowered onto her head. It took a lot longer for Paige, nearly a minute, before the Sorting Hat cried out "RAVENCLAW!"

Paige seemed to relax, hurrying off towards the table one over from the entrance, sitting down. Brooke watched Paige and grinned a little as she saw Paige had sat next to Henry, who was already congratulating the girl.

"Boot, Osbert!"

Brooke gave a small snort, despite her nerves, as she watched a curly-haired boy hurry forward. What kind of name was Osbert?

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat shouted after a moment.

Slowly, the list went on. Campbell, Logan became a Gryffindor, while Chamberlain, Connor, Cunningham, David, and DiBenedetto, Robert all joined the Hufflepuff table.

Brooke's nerves turned her stomach more and more with each name. She noticed with each student, the hat took a different amount of time, and Brooke wondered how long it would take with her...Or if it would Sort her at all. James and Fí said some people were unsortable and were sent back home...What would Brooke's parents say if she was one of those?

"Finnigan, Rebecca!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Godfrey, Leah!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Goyle, Franklin and Graham, Heather became Slytherins, along with Hart, Terence—whom Brooke noticed had been one of the three boys who had been in the boat behind hers.

"Hightman, Christopher!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Hopkins, Samuel!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Jordan, Nicole!"

A tall girl with her dark hair in a ponytail, making her look older than the eleven she was, went to the stool with a grin and sat down, the hat dropping down over her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Nicole looked pleased as she joined the Gryffindor table, and was soon joined by King, Dylan. Right after, Knight, Joseph became a Ravenclaw.

Slowly, the line dwindled more and more, Brooke was becoming terrified of the urge to throw up that kept coming. She had already embarrassed herself once in front of the other first years with her fall into the water—she didn't want to add to it by throwing up in front of the entire school.

"Malfoy, Scorpius!"

Brooke noticed the narrow-faced boy make his way up to the stool. Brooke wasn't surprised that the hat had only been on his head a second before it shouted "SLYTHERIN!"

Someone groaned next somewhere nearby. Apparently one student didn't like that Sorting. Brooke couldn't help but think—as Mallory, Harriet became a Hufflepuff—that the student would have to get used to it. Slytherins were known for their gits.

"Manning, Phoebe!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Metcalfe, Matilda!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Mitchell, Katherine!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Moons, Madison and Newman, Archie both became Ravenclaws, and next up were Nott, Poppy—who was the girl in the boat behind Brooke's—and Owen, Aidan, who both became Slytherins.

"Pennyfeather, Ginger!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Potter, Albus!"

Albus straightened himself up, grinning at Brooke before he made his way to the stool as whispers went through the hall. Brooke wasn't surprised, given who Albus's parents were. She suspected those same whispers would come when her name was called.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Albus turned, grinning at Brooke again before heading to the Gryffindor table. Brooke's nerves were pushing up again. Albus was in Gryffindor now. Brooke just kept hoping that she would be, too. She wished the Sorting would hurry along so Professor Hogmer could get to the Ws already.

"Regimen, Arista!"

Brooke felt a jolt of recognition at the name as she watched a girl with brown skin and sandy-brown hair head to the stool. Regimen was a very well-known name to Quidditch lovers. The Regimen family was the one who created the Silver Comet, the best racing broom in existence currently.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Brooke watched the girl head off to the Slytherin table, grinning brightly and holding her head up high in an air of arrogance. Just another egotistical Slytherin who thought money made them better than everyone else.

"Richardson, Abigail!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Riley, Spencer!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Schofield, Edward!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Slimmings, Leo!"

The final boy who had been in Malfoy's boat stepped forward. Like all three before, Brooke wasn't surprised that he ended up in Slytherin.

"Stocker, Maximus!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The names went on and on as the line slowly dwindled around her. One by one, students went to different Houses and Brooke's nerves went higher and higher. Finally, with only four first years left, the moment Brooke had been both wanting and dreading came.

"Weasley, Brooke!"

Brooke felt as if her breath stopped and she seemed frozen for a moment as the whispers went through the hall again. This was it. She was about to be Sorted. For better or worse, she was about to find out what House she would be in.

Brooke felt a nudge and looked beside her to see a girl with curly blonde hair and freckles grinning at her, then the girl nodded to the stool. Brooke swallowed, slowly walking to the stool, trembling even harder now. She felt a new cold that had nothing to do with her wet clothes as she sat on the stool and squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as she could and felt the hat lower onto her head.

"Ah, you have a lot to prove..."

Brooke jumped, her eyes opening quickly, but all she could see was the inside of the hat. She hadn't expected the thing to actually talk to her...Had it talked to other students as well?

"There's a lot of determination in you...A desire to stand out...You'd be well-suited for Slytherin..."

"No!" Brooke said quickly, then felt her face grow hot, hoping no one close by heard her, "No, please...Please not Slytherin..."

"Why not? You'd do well in Slytherin. Lots of ambition. A strong desire to prove yourself. Quite a bit of resourcefulness in you. You could do well."

"Please, no..."

"But are you suited somewhere else?" the hat asked, "Oh, I see...You have a courageous heart...A streak of loyalty, yes, those are qualities of Gryffindor, but do you really belong there..."

"Yes, please, Gryffindor. I want to be in Gryffindor..."

With her family. With her older siblings. With her cousin Albus. She wanted to be in Gryffindor. She couldn't let her family down.

"Really? Gryffindor? But you could do so well elsewhere."

"No!" Brooke whispered, "Please no! I want to be in Gryffindor! I want to prove myself!"

"Oh, I see...Such a strong desire to prove yourself...To stand out among the crowd. I know exactly where you belong."

Brooke felt herself relax a little. The hat seemed to see reason, she was about to be placed in Gryffindor. She was about to join her cousins and her siblings...

"SLYTHERIN!"


	5. Irrational Behavior

Brooke felt sick as the hat was pulled from her head. She was barely aware of the applause that was rising from the Slytherin table, the table furthest from the one Brooke had wanted to be at. Brooke felt like she was in a daze as she looked towards her siblings, towards her cousin, at the Gryffindor table. They all seemed in shock. Brooke couldn't help but think they couldn't be any more shocked than she was.

She wasn't quite sure how she made it to the Slytherin table. It was like she was moving in a fog. She didn't remember walking past the tables or sitting next to her new Housemates. She didn't remember the rest of the Sorting. She'd suddenly lost her appetite. She just sat there at her plate, tuning out everyone talking around her, and didn't say anything, didn't eat. She kept staring across the Great Hall to the Gryffindor table. Why wasn't she over there? What was wrong with her? Why did she end up in Slytherin? There had to be something wrong with her to end up in this House...

Albus seemed determined not to look at Brooke, which only made things worse. He kept his gaze down on his plate, stabbing at his food. Brooke remembered how he seemed so _certain_ that they'd both be in Gryffindor...How could he have ended up being wrong? Was he angry with her now? Merlin, she hoped not...Albus was going to be her only ally. She wasn't going to make it through this alone.

"Welcome everyone."

Brooke blinked, realizing that the food had disappeared now. She looked up, seeing a friendly-looking woman in dark robes had stood up at the head table, grinning at the students around the room. Dinner apparently ended without her even realizing it. Now Headmistress Shungar had stood up and was giving her welcoming speech.

"I'd like to welcome all our returning students to another year here at Hogwarts and those of you who are starting your first year within these walls," Professor Shungar looked around the room with a bright grin, "I bid you an extra welcome and hope these next seven years prove to be an amazing experience for you."

'_Not likely,'_ Brooke thought. How was she ever going to be happy here in the house she always thought to be full of self-centered gits? What was this supposed to say about her?

Professor Shungar continued her speech, which was rules to remember, places to avoid—such as the Forbidden Forest—notices for Quidditch tryouts. She then announced it was time for bed and for the Prefects to lead the first years to their Houses.

Brooke pushed herself to her feet and followed her fellow first years towards where the Prefects were calling them over. She found herself looking forwards Albus again as the Gryffindors filed out of the room and up the marble staircase. Brooke, however, was led down a flight of stairs into a dark corridor that felt much cooler than the castle above. Brooke shivered, wrapping her damp robes tighter around her as they were led along to a blank wall.

"Now, remember this spot, it's the entrance to our common room," one Prefect said, "The password changes every two weeks. Be sure to check the notice board for the password update regularly. The password as of now is 'Merlin'."

The wall behind the Prefects slowly opened, revealing a large room on the other side. Brooke followed the others in, glancing around. The room was large and dark with a green tinge due to the light coming from the windows, which Brooke noticed didn't have any view of the castle grounds but instead of water with creatures swimming by the glass. It looked like the Slytherin common room was under the lake. Just great. Just what Brooke needed. A creepy dungeon room that was sitting underwater.

"Now, the girls' dormitories are on the left, the boys' are on the right," one Prefect said, "I suggest you all get to your rooms and get to sleep. Classes will not start until Monday, but you all still need to be well-rested."

Though Brooke doubted she'd sleep much that night. She followed the rest of the girls down one corridor, down two flights of stairs, and found their room right off the stairs on the lowest level. Brooke sighed, heading into a large, rectangular room with beds along one wall, the opposite wall having large windows peering out into the lake, almost spanning the entire wall across the room, bathing the bedroom in the same soft green light as the common room. Brooke frowned, ignoring the chatter of her roommates as she went to her trunk, finding that her bed was the furthest from the door. She sighed, pulling out her pajamas and changing into them before pulling the curtains around her bed, cutting herself off from the rest of the room. She quickly pulled her hair back in a loose ponytail and curled up under the covers, hugging her stuffed hippogriff tightly against her, burying her face against it.

This day couldn't get any worse. Her nerves woke her up sick. It stormed and she couldn't get a view of Hogwarts when she arrived. And now she was in the most hated House...What did she do to deserve this? Brooke squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the urge to cry. Trying to force herself to get to sleep...Eventually, it came, but it was a very restless sleep.

The next morning didn't start off any better. Brooke made sure to get dressed quickly and was out of the room before any of the other girls, wanting getting out of the 'Slytherin Dungeon' as quickly as possible. She headed into the entrance hall, where four large hourglasses were against one wall. Brooke's eyes lingered on the green one. That was her House. The more she thought about it, the more it sunk in. She was a Slytherin...She hated it.

Brooke turned her back on the hourglasses, as if she could pretend she wasn't wearing a Slytherin crest on her robes right now. She had decided to get out early to try and catch Albus. She needed her ally. Albus at least would understand, right? Brooke made her way over, sitting on the stairs with her back against the railing, watching people coming and going. She noticed that the Hufflepuffs were coming from downstairs as well, though from a different corridor than where the Slytherin common rooms were. Ravenclaws and Gryffindors, however, were coming from upstairs.

As she waited, she noticed some people giving her odd looks as they passed. Brooke frowned as she watched them. How many more people were going to give her looks like that? The Weasley in Slytherin...The daughter of war heroes, in the House that spawned the worst wizard in history and most all of his followers...

Finally, Brooke saw her cousin Albus coming down the stairs amongst a group of boys. She pushed herself to her feet with a grin just as Albus approached, but she stopped short at his look. He was glaring at her. Brooke had never seen Albus look so angry before...She couldn't speak. She just stared, dumbfounded, as her cousin, her best friend, just glared at her and walked off without a word into the Great Hall.

"What was _that_ about?" Brooke asked herself, finding her voice shaking. It wasn't her fault she was in Slytherin...It couldn't be her fault she was in Slytherin. Did Albus really hate her? They grew up together...How could he hate her?

"Brooke, right?"

Brooke turned, then tensed up. The Malfoy boy had shown up behind her. Surprisingly, however, his little gang from last night wasn't following him.

"Listen, I wanted to apologize," Malfoy said, "About last night, I mean. I wanted to make sure you knew I didn't have anything to do with that stunt the others pulled. I just happened to be in the same boat as them. I tried to stop them, but..."

He grinned at her, then held out his hand.

"I'm Malfoy, by the way. Scorpius Malfoy."

Brooke studied him cautiously, an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something was off. A Slytherin wanting to apologize? Especially for something he's claiming he didn't even do?

"Would you be apologizing if I hadn't been Sorted into the same House as you?" Brooke asked.

"What?" Malfoy asked, looking honestly confused. If Brooke wasn't already in such a bad mood, she probably would have bought into it.

"You know what I mean," Brooke said, "You're only trying to make nice because I'm a Slytherin. Well, you can keep it to yourself."

Brooke turned away from Malfoy, heading on into the Great Hall. She ignored the Gryffindor table on the other side of the room, taking a seat at the Slytherin table well away from her Housemates. She found herself hungrier today than she was the night before, so she put some sausage and toast on her plate. At the same moment, Professor Hogmer was walking along the Slytherin table, handing out pieces of parchment. When Brooke got hers, she realized it was her schedule. She felt a wave of relief when she noticed the first class was Herbology with Gryffindor.

"Good, if I can't corner him this weekend, I'll get a chance in Herbology," Brooke told herself with a nod. She pocketed her schedule and turned to her breakfast. She was just realizing she had barely eaten anything at all the day before and she really was getting hungry. She'd just picked up her fork when a girl sat across from her. At a glance, Brooke realized it was the sandy-haired girl from the Sorting the night before. Arista Regimen. The girl so smug to be in Slytherin. Like everyone but herself. Brooke planned to just ignore her and go on with her breakfast, but apparently the girl had other plans.

"That was rude, you know."

"What?" Brooke looked up at the girl across from her.

"You were rude to Scorpius," Regimen said, "I mean, he was trying to be nice. You didn't have to antagonize him."

"It's really none of your business," Brooke said lowly. This was the last thing she needed. A Slytherin telling her how she needed to act. A Slytherin, of all people, telling her she was being rude. She didn't give Regimen a chance to reply. Instead, she picked up a piece of toast and pushed herself to her feet, heading out of the Great Hall again.

"How did this happen?" Brooke asked herself out loud. She had a habit of thinking out loud a lot. "I'm not a bad person. How did I end up in Slytherin?"

What had she ever done to deserve this? How in Merlin's name had she ended up in _Slytherin_? Brooke sighed as she nibbled on her toast, walking through the hallways aimlessly. She stopped by a window, staring out over the Hogwarts grounds. Thankfully, she was only on the first floor. She wasn't high up. She hated heights.

The rain had stopped over the night. Brooke could actually see the grounds now. She noticed the wooden hut where Hagrid lived, and she could see the large figure that had to be Hagrid out in his garden. With him was a tall, slender figure. Probably the woman who'd guided them on the boats the night before. Brooke noticed no one else was out on the grounds today. Probably didn't want to be out in the wet grass after the storms. Or they were all still eating breakfast...

Brooke looked towards the lake.

"I wonder how far down the common room is..." she whispered. She remembered going down a couple flights of stairs to get to the common room. And then her dorm room was another couple floors down. They had to be pretty deep under the lake.

"Why'm I even bothering?" Brooke finally muttered, shaking her head with a sigh. Why should she care how deep the common room was when she didn't even want to be in that House in the first place?

An owl flew by outside and Brooke suddenly froze, a wave of dread going through her. She was going to have to write home eventually...She was going to have to tell her parents she ended up in Slytherin...

"Oh, they're going to hate me..." Brooke whispered. Her father had often talked about disowning them if they ended up in Slytherin...Bryt always said he was joking, but what if he wasn't?

Brooke swallowed hard, fiddling with her locket on her bracelet. She needed to get her mind off this. Do something to avoid writing home...At first, she thought about going and talking to Uncle Drew. He always knew how to help.

"Only problems are I have no idea where his office is," Brooke muttered, "Or if he's even here..."

After all, it was the weekend, and classes hadn't started. She didn't know if Uncle Drew would have come up from Hogsmeade, or stay home with Aunt Nell and Tyler...

For a moment, she thought of visiting Hagrid, but then decided against it. After all, Hagrid was great and he really did try, but he wasn't the best person to go to for cheering up. So instead, Brooke turned and headed off, deciding just to wander aimlessly. She hadn't paid attention to where she was going, so she had gotten herself a bit lost. She thought about stopping to ask an older student directions, but then thought better of it when she realized the stares she was getting.

After all, she was a Weasley. And not just any Weasley. The daughter of two well-known war heroes. And she'd ended up in Slytherin.

"They probably think it's only a matter of time before I end up going on a killing spree or something," Brooke muttered. After all, if she was in Slytherin, something must be wrong with her.

As Brooke continued to make her way through the castle, she once had to duck into an alcove as she noticed Regimen going by, a book open in one hand, a quill in the other and seemed to be studying everything around her and taking notes. Brooke raised an eyebrow at that, waiting until Regimen was out of sight before slipping out of her hiding spot.

"Great, I'm sharing my House with stuck-up arses and crazies," she whispered. What was Regimen doing wandering around writing in a book?

Brooke pushed the thoughts away, deciding she didn't really care. Thankfully, however, she soon found herself back in the Entrance Hall and she glanced around before deciding to head back up the stairs. Maybe the library would be quiet...

The rest of the day was just as miserable for Brooke. She skipped lunch entirely, not wanting to deal with any Slytherin coming up and telling her she was being rude again. Instead she went around the castle again, finding herself attracting stares wherever she went. She hated every second of it and finally gave in, going to the one place she didn't want to be.

She made her way back down through the castle, heading down into the dungeons and finding her way back to the blank wall in one corridor. She quickly gave the password, heading into the underwater common room.

Unfortunately, the common room wasn't empty. Slytherin students were scattered around, chatting with each other in various places. Some exchanging Chocolate Frog cards. Others were playing Gobstones, Exploding Snap, or Wizard Chess. Wasn't there anywhere Brooke could get away from people? Get away from the stares?

Brooke shook her head, heading towards the girls' dormitories, making her wad down to her dormitory, relieved to find it empty. She went over, flopping down on her bed and grabbing her stuffed hippogriff, rolling onto her stomach and staring down at the stuffed animal in the green lighting.

"What did I ever do to get stuck with these self-absorbed gits?" Brooke asked softly.

"Funny, I was just asking myself the same thing about you."


End file.
